Akhtar unimpressed with Babar's 'lame excuses' after England humble Pakistan

Former speedster Shoaib Akhtar is unimpressed with Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s ‘lame excuses’ after England beat Pakistan by nine-wickets on Thursday in Cardiff.

Babar, in a post-match virtual press conference, said that Pakistan will make a strong comeback in the second ODI in Lord’s.

"It's not such a massive setback, per se. Of course, there are bad days and there are good days. We have been playing the past few series fairly well," Babar said. "I will sit with them and have a talk. I'll them that don't lose your nerves and that ups and downs are part of life."

"The sooner we do that, the better it will be for us, as a team," he added.

However, Akhtar is not buying what Babar had to say after the match and termed them ‘lame excuses’.

“It is all lame excuses. There was nothing on the wicket like extraordinary bounce. A little seam movement is expected in England. If you can’t handle that seam, then what will you do?” Akhtar questioned on PTV Sports.

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“I feel sorry for myself and the fans. If Pakistan continues to perform like this, then who will watch them? I will not,” he added.

The second match of the three-game series will be played at Lord’s on Saturday, which will be a must-win contest for the Men in Green.